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Allusions to telling women to dress down...

There's victim blaming and then there's practical actionable advice. The latter is empowering, I'm not sure why there is such a strong reaction against it. "Here is a risk that you face. Here are some things you could do to reduce that risk." Great, sounds good to me.

Telling a child not to get into a stranger's car is not victim blaming, is it?

How about advising a person to wear a mask in public to reduce their chance of getting sick?

How about telling a woman to wear a veil not to provoke erection in adolescents ? :D

Something as passive as what you wear should not be a trigger for crime in a reasonable city. Telling people they should dress for the fascists' peace of mind is not progress.

Yes absolutely in some countries and cultures women should absolutely be told that they must cover up, not go about in public un-escorted, etc.

It's not about your beliefs or your imagination of what the world is or should be, it is about actual reality for these people.

The difference between telling a child to not get into a stranger's car, vs telling a women not to dress scantily, is that a child would never need to get into a stranger's car (they are often tricked), but an adult woman would want to dress scantily as that is a personal choice of theirs. The fact that there is risk for a woman dressing scantily is the problem - which is why the "actionable advice" for them not to dress that way is called victim blaming.

All those situations are different by definition. Without getting bogged down into a child having a reason to get into a car because they want a lift to get somewhere, I'm not talking about the differences. I'm talking about the similarities. Which are ways people might choose to reduce risk.

Not that I'm saying dressing differently reduces risk mind you, I don't have statistics at hand to know whether it does or does not in western countries. I was commenting on the advice to avoid being a target on the street by hiding that you're a banker. That's not victim blaming.

But if women not "dressing scantily" as you say were to statistically reduce the chance of them being victimized in some situation, that seems like a pretty important thing for them to know. Or would you prefer that data was hidden from them?

Guys, don’t wear too flashy of a tie on the subway.

Probably more like "don't wear that $4000 suit and $10000 rolex for a few months"

I've known people who have lived in NYC for many decades who have never even once set foot on a MTA subway staircase.

So that's whose taking the elevators.

If you go to another country dressed however you wish, you might be acosted, too. We share our cities.

No surprise Johnathan was mugged. Did you see what he was wearing?

He was asking for it rolling up that sleeve and flashing his watch. If he didnt want someone to grab it he should have covered it up.

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